“I noticed the stick welds and thought ‘I can weld better than this,’ and I’ve only welded once on my grandparent’s farm as a kid. It was so saddening to see it like that. I just wanted to be done,” he said.

After seeing the Firebird in such poor condition, the folks at Hot Rod were determined to help Ingraham make it right. They called us about a new engine and we were able to have a 383ci short block with a forged rotating assembly, oil pan, timing cover and a full roller cam valvetrain airfreighted the next day.

We also included a set of aluminum units, pre-assembled with valve springs for a hydraulic roller cam.

The end result after some elbow grease?

A beautiful Firebird that we’re sure he’s not to let out of his sight for years to come.